[Editor’s Pick] Highlights of Storyfest 2018 – #BeLegendary

The second edition of the Storytelling Centre’s Storyfest returns this weekend, with 17 programmes, 21 storytellers and countless stories to be told at the Arts House. Storytelling is no easy business, and as an ancient oral tradition, it gives power to the spoken word and draws strength from the human voice, something we clearly experienced as we watched Storyfest creative producer Kamini Ramachandran herself perform at the recently concluded 2018 Singapore International Festival of the Arts.

For the festival, tickets are almost completely booked, with The Telling Theatre’s (Denmark) performance of Nordic epic Beowulf already sold out. Other international highlights of the festival this year include Maimouna Jallow’s presentation of Lola Shoneyin’s award-winning The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, and Kenyan/Scottish Mara Menzies’ Edinburgh Fest hit The Illusion of Truth. Family friendly tales from all three of these artists will also be available on Sunday, 3rd June, where Jesper la Cour Andersen of The Telling Theatre will be recounting legends of the Norse Gods, Mara Menzies speaks of faery folk and legendary heroes, and Maimouna Jallow presents some of Africa’s best known tales in a a traditional setting, as she calls audiences with the rallying cry ‘Story! Story! Story Come!’.

But beyond the international artists, homegrown Singaporeans will also be taking to the stage and presenting stories at The Singapore Showcase, featuring alineup of professional storytellers ranging from Story Slam Singapore to Improv Asia, while A Caravan of Storiesfeatures five promising young apprentices from the Storytelling Centre’s Young Storytellers Mentorship Project, including rising storytellers Jeremy Leong and Daisy Anne Mitchell.

But enough talk, and all ears as you let the oral tradition speak for itself at each and every one of these performances happening this weekend, with the second edition of Storyfest ensuring that all who attend and partake in these undying tales of unlikely heroes, mythical beings and ordinary folk will come away feeling like they’ve just witnessed the stuff of legends, and in so doing, #BeLegendary.

Storyfest 2018 takes place at the Arts House from 1st – 3rd June. For the full lineup and tickets, visit their website here